Sexing the Cherry

This third novel by Jeanette Winterson remains one of her best-known, exploring the nature of history, of imagination, and of time itself. Set in a fantastic world that is and is not 17th-century England, a baby is found floating in the Thames. He is rescued by the Dog Woman, a murderous yet gentle giant who names her newfound trophy Jordan and takes him out for walks on a leash. Jordan grows up to travel the world like Gulliver, but finds that the strangest wonders are spun out of his own head. What is the relationship between 17th-century Jordan and 20th-century Nicholas Jordan, a navel cadet in a warship? Why do the Twelve Dancing Princesses tell their stories here? And why, Jordan wonders, does every journey conceal another journey within its lines?

"Sexing the Cherry is a dangerous jewel ... a mixture of The Arabian Nights touched by the philosophical form of Milan Kundera and told with the grace of Italo Calvino."—SFChronicle